EP0651417B1 - A field emission cathode apparatus - Google Patents

A field emission cathode apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0651417B1
EP0651417B1 EP94117110A EP94117110A EP0651417B1 EP 0651417 B1 EP0651417 B1 EP 0651417B1 EP 94117110 A EP94117110 A EP 94117110A EP 94117110 A EP94117110 A EP 94117110A EP 0651417 B1 EP0651417 B1 EP 0651417B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
electron
emitter
type silicon
field emission
active device
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP94117110A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0651417A1 (en
Inventor
Toshihide Kuriyama
Hideo Makishima
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NEC Corp
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NEC Corp
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Publication of EP0651417A1 publication Critical patent/EP0651417A1/en
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Publication of EP0651417B1 publication Critical patent/EP0651417B1/en
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J17/00—Gas-filled discharge tubes with solid cathode
    • H01J17/38—Cold-cathode tubes
    • H01J17/40—Cold-cathode tubes with one cathode and one anode, e.g. glow tubes, tuning-indicator glow tubes, voltage-stabiliser tubes, voltage-indicator tubes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J1/00—Details of electrodes, of magnetic control means, of screens, or of the mounting or spacing thereof, common to two or more basic types of discharge tubes or lamps
    • H01J1/02—Main electrodes
    • H01J1/30—Cold cathodes, e.g. field-emissive cathode
    • H01J1/304—Field-emissive cathodes
    • H01J1/3042—Field-emissive cathodes microengineered, e.g. Spindt-type
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J2201/00—Electrodes common to discharge tubes
    • H01J2201/30—Cold cathodes
    • H01J2201/319—Circuit elements associated with the emitters by direct integration

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a field emission cathode apparatus, especially to a field emission cathode apparatus in which every cone shaped elementary electron emitter (electron-emitter, hereinafter) is controlled by an active device.
  • every cone shaped elementary electron emitter electron-emitter, hereinafter
  • Field emission apparatus is widely used in various equipments such as cathode ray tubes of displays, vacuum tubes for microwave technologies or sensors as electron sources.
  • a conventional field emission cathode apparatus comprises two important parts; one is a cathode electrode, and another one is a grid electrode.
  • a cathode electrode comprises a metallic plane and cones shaped electron-emitters with upward apecies, which are made of a metal with high melting point. Cone shaped electron-emitters are positioned on lattice points which is assumed on a metallic plane.
  • a grid electrode is a planar plate of a metal with high melting point and provided with circular holes, centers of which are positioned on lattice points assumed on a planar plate. Geometrical parameters of two sets of lattice points are quite the same.
  • Cathode and grid electrodes are combined such that, planar portions of these electrodes are parallel to each other, and an apex of each cone shaped electron-emitter is surrounded by a inner periphery of a circular hole of a grid electrode.
  • EP-A-0 496 572 discloses an integrally controlled field emission display device wherein at least a controller, realized as a transistor device, is disposed in/on at least a layer of said field emission display device and is operably connected to at least one element of the field emission device of the field emission display device.
  • a plurality of integrally formed controllers may be selectively interconnected to provide selective control of groups of field emission devices of the field emission device display in a manner that provides for integrated active addressing of the field emission display device.
  • This field emission device disclosed in this document shows all the features of the precharacterizing portion of claim 1.
  • Fig. 1 When a pointed end of a cone shaped electrode with a small size is exposed to high electric field, electron emission arises at the pointed end.
  • the Spindt-Type electrode for electric field emission shown in Fig. 1 is known as a typical example of such electrodes.
  • 10 is an insulator substrate such as glass.
  • 9 is an electrically conductive layer, which is made of a metal such as Al, and formed on an insulator substrate 10.
  • electron emitter 1s which are made of a metal with high melting point such as W, Mo or etc. and shaped into cones with pointed apices, are arranged on lattice points assumed on a surface of an electrically conductive layer 9.
  • Each of these emitters 1s is surrounded by an insulator layer 3 made of SiO 2 , or etc. and a grid electrode 2 made of a metal such as Mo, W, Cr or etc..
  • the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, France in EP-A-0 316 214 proposed to insert a resistive film, made of Si or etc., between a electrically conductive layer and electron-emitters, wherein a thickness of a resistive film is several tens of nm to several ⁇ m, and a specific resistant of a resistive material was several hundreds to several million ⁇ cm. In that construction, nonuniformity of electron emission density was decreased to some extents.
  • Futaba Electronic Industrial Co. has proposed to insert constant current devices between each electron emitter and a electrically conductive layer, which appeared in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 4-249026.
  • a emission current of each electron-emitter is limited by the active device with a saturation current, which is connected in series to a electron-emitter, and therefore nonuniformity of electron emission density over the emissive surface due to random imperfections of shapes and dimensions of electron-emitters and a grid electrode can be prevented.
  • short circuit currents are limited by active devices with saturation currents, and there is no fear that the scale of damage is magnified, and the expected life span of the apparatus is prolonged.
  • Fig.2 shows a cross-sectional view of a field emission cathode apparatus as the first preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • 1 is an electron-emitter made of Mo and has a pointed end
  • 2 is a grid electrode made of W
  • 3 is an insulator layer made of SiO 2
  • 4 is a cylindrical n-type silicon provided under an electron-emitter 1
  • 5 is a p-type silicon surrounding a n-type silicon 4
  • 6 is a n + -type silicon.
  • the electron-emitter 1 is shaped into a cone with a sharp pointed apex and the height of 0.5 to 1.0 ⁇ m
  • a n-type silicon 4, a p-type silicon 5 and a n + -type silicon 6 constitutes a n-channel junction gate field effect transistor, wherein an electron-emitter 1, a n-type silicon 4, a p-type silicon 5 and a n + -type silicon 6 correspond to a drain, a n-channel, a gate and a source respectively.
  • the withstand voltage between source and drain electrodes of this junction gate field effect transistor should be higher than the voltage applied between an electron-emitter 1 and the grid electrode 2 to generate field emission from the electron-emitter 1. If we denote the impurity density and the depth of the n-type silicon, which serves as a channel of the junction gate field effect transistor, by n and w respectively, it is sufficient that the following relations are satisfied.
  • V 0 is the voltage to be applied between the electron-emitter 1 and the n + -type silicon 6 in a case of break-down. It should be noted that V 0 is nearly equal to the voltage applied between an electron-emitter 1 and a grid electrode 2 to generate field emission in a case of normal operation.
  • Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a field emission cathode apparatus as the second preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • 1 is an electron emitter with a pointed end and made of Mo
  • 2 is a grid electrode made of W
  • 3 is an insulator layer made of SiO 2 or etc.
  • 4 is a n-type silicon
  • 5 is a p-type silicon
  • 6 is a n + -type silicon
  • 7 is a source electrode made of a metal
  • 8 is a gate electrode of an insulated gate field effect transistor (IGFET, hereinafter).
  • IGFET insulated gate field effect transistor
  • An electron-emitter 1 is shaped into a cone with height of 0.5 to 1.0 ⁇ m and surrounded an insulator layer 3 and a grid electrode 2 at a radial distance of 0.5 to 1.0 ⁇ m.
  • a n-type silicon 4, a p-type silicon 5, a n + -type silicon 6, a source electrode 7 and a gate electrode 8 constitute an IGFET.
  • An electron-emitter 1 and a n + -type silicon 6 serve as a drain electrode in one.
  • the withstand voltage between source and drain electrodes of the IGFET is higher than the voltage applied between an electron-emitter 1 and a grid electrode 2 for generating field emission.
  • a region of a n-type silicon 4 as a pinch-off resistance, we can make a n-type silicon 4 withstand the voltage to be applied to the n + -type silicon 6, which serves as a drain electrode of an IGFET, and thereby we can get an apparatus with a high withstand voltage.
  • an impurity density of a p-type silicon 5 is 1 x 10 15 cm -3
  • an impurity density per unit area of n-type silicon is 2 x 10 12 cm -2
  • its lateral length is 10 ⁇ m
  • a withstand voltage is larger than 100V.
  • a voltage of a n-type silicon 4 near a n + -type silicon 6 is increased and a similar phenomenon to that described in the case of Fig. 2 arises, and a short-circuit current can be limited, because a n-type silicon 4 is embeded in a p-type silicon 5. Accordingly, in a case of break-down, a substantial portion of a break-down voltage is shared by a pinch-off resistance of a n-type silicon 4, and an electric field along a surface of a p-type silicon 5 under a gate electrode 8 of an IGFET is extremely small.
  • a gate electrode 8 of an IGFET is exposed to a high voltage, and an insulation layer between a gate electrode 8 of an IGFET and a surface of a p-type silicon 5 can be narrowed.
  • a mutual conductance of an IGEFT can be increased, and a current therethrough can be controlled by a small control voltage.
  • a n-type silicon 4 is not used in a construction shown in Fig. 3, a gate-electrode 8 of an IGFET must withstand against a considerable portion of break-down voltage, and must be protected by a thick layer of insulator. Then, a distance between a gate electrode 8 and a surface of a p-type silicon is increased.
  • Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a field emission cathode apparatus as the third preferred embodiment of the invention.
  • 1 is an electron emitter with a sharp pointed end and made of Mo
  • 2 is a grid electrode made of W
  • 3 is an insulator layer made of SiO 2
  • 4 is a n-type silicon
  • 5 is a p-type silicon
  • 6 is a n + -type silicon.
  • An electron-emitter 1 is shaped into a cone with height of 0.5 to 1.0 ⁇ m and surrounded by an insulator layer 3 and a grid electrode 2 at a radial distance of 0.5 to 1.0 ⁇ m.
  • a n-type silicon 4 is provided under an electron-emitter 1, has a cylindrical form and is buried in a p-type silicon 5.
  • a n-type silicon 4, a p-type silicon 5 and a n + -type silicon 6 constitute a bipolar transistor, and by varying the voltage of a p-type silicon 5, which corresponds to a base electrode of this bipolar transistor, we can control an electric current, which starts from an electron-emitter 1 and flows to a n + -type silicon 6 corresponding to an emitter electrode, passing through a n-type silicon 4 and a p-type silicon 5 corresponding to collector and base electrodes respectively.
  • w Denoting the length of the n-type silicon 4 and the voltage applied between an electron-emitter 1 and a n + -type silicon 6 by w and V 0 respectively, w can be determined by the following inequality. n ⁇ p, w > 2V 0 / ⁇ wherein, 2 is a safety factor, p is an impurity density of the p-type silicon 5, and ⁇ is the breakdown field intensity of silicon. It should be noted that V 0 is nearly equal to the voltage applied between an electron-emitter 1 and a grid electrode 2 to generate field emission in a case of normal operation.
  • one active device with saturation characteristic of electric current is connected to one electron-emitter, however, it is possible to connect one active device to several numbers of electron-emitters.
  • one electron emitter when one electron emitter is damaged, electron-emitters belonging the same group cannot operate, however, all other electron-emitters can operate normally, and therefore, reliability of an apparatus can be maintained, and its life is prolonged.
  • a emission current from each electron-emitter is determined by an active device, which is connected to an electron-emitter in series and has a saturation characteristic of electric current, nonuniformity of emission current density over a whole emissive area, which is caused by random imperfections of shapes and dimensions of electron-emitters and a gridelectrode, can be eliminated.
  • active devices which are connected to an electron-emitter in series and has a saturation characteristic of electric current

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  • Cold Cathode And The Manufacture (AREA)
EP94117110A 1993-10-28 1994-10-28 A field emission cathode apparatus Expired - Lifetime EP0651417B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP270632/93 1993-10-28
JP27063293A JP2861755B2 (ja) 1993-10-28 1993-10-28 電界放出型陰極装置

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0651417A1 EP0651417A1 (en) 1995-05-03
EP0651417B1 true EP0651417B1 (en) 1998-01-14

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94117110A Expired - Lifetime EP0651417B1 (en) 1993-10-28 1994-10-28 A field emission cathode apparatus

Country Status (5)

Country Link
US (1) US5550435A (ko)
EP (1) EP0651417B1 (ko)
JP (1) JP2861755B2 (ko)
KR (1) KR0155179B1 (ko)
DE (1) DE69407927T2 (ko)

Families Citing this family (23)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5585301A (en) * 1995-07-14 1996-12-17 Micron Display Technology, Inc. Method for forming high resistance resistors for limiting cathode current in field emission displays
EP0757341B1 (en) * 1995-08-01 2003-06-04 STMicroelectronics S.r.l. Limiting and selfuniforming cathode currents through the microtips of a field emission flat panel display
JP3135823B2 (ja) * 1995-08-25 2001-02-19 株式会社神戸製鋼所 冷電子放出素子及びその製造方法
JP2782587B2 (ja) * 1995-08-25 1998-08-06 工業技術院長 冷電子放出素子
JP3026484B2 (ja) * 1996-08-23 2000-03-27 日本電気株式会社 電界放出型冷陰極
JP2891196B2 (ja) * 1996-08-30 1999-05-17 日本電気株式会社 冷陰極電子銃およびこれを用いた電子ビーム装置
US5847515A (en) * 1996-11-01 1998-12-08 Micron Technology, Inc. Field emission display having multiple brightness display modes
JP3080021B2 (ja) * 1997-02-10 2000-08-21 日本電気株式会社 電界放出型冷陰極およびその製造方法
JP3764906B2 (ja) * 1997-03-11 2006-04-12 独立行政法人産業技術総合研究所 電界放射型カソード
JP3166655B2 (ja) * 1997-03-27 2001-05-14 日本電気株式会社 電界放出型冷陰極素子
JP3104639B2 (ja) * 1997-03-31 2000-10-30 日本電気株式会社 電界放出型冷陰極
JP3102783B2 (ja) * 1998-02-11 2000-10-23 三星電子株式会社 外部電界を利用して電子放出を活性化させた冷陰極電子放出素子
KR20010034645A (ko) * 1998-03-23 2001-04-25 모리시타 요이찌 전계 방출형 전자원 장치
US6417627B1 (en) 1999-02-03 2002-07-09 Micron Technology, Inc. Matrix-addressable display with minimum column-row overlap and maximum metal line-width
US20020163294A1 (en) * 1999-02-17 2002-11-07 Ammar Derraa Methods of forming a base plate for a field emission display (fed) device, methods of forming a field emission display (fed) device,base plates for field emission display (fed) devices, and field emission display (fed) devices
JP3101713B2 (ja) * 1999-02-22 2000-10-23 東北大学長 電界放射陰極およびそれを用いる電磁波発生装置
JP2000260299A (ja) * 1999-03-09 2000-09-22 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd 冷電子放出素子及びその製造方法
JP3474863B2 (ja) * 2001-03-29 2003-12-08 株式会社東芝 電界放出型電子源の製造方法とマトリックス型電子源アレイ基板の製造方法
US6577058B2 (en) * 2001-10-12 2003-06-10 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Injection cold emitter with negative electron affinity based on wide-gap semiconductor structure with controlling base
US6750470B1 (en) * 2002-12-12 2004-06-15 General Electric Company Robust field emitter array design
US7015496B2 (en) * 2002-12-27 2006-03-21 Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Field emission device and manufacturing method thereof
US7305019B2 (en) * 2005-01-05 2007-12-04 Intel Corporation Excimer laser with electron emitters
CN103021759B (zh) * 2013-01-06 2016-05-04 电子科技大学 一种恒流发射的场致发射电子源

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JPS515550A (ja) * 1974-07-05 1976-01-17 Hitachi Ltd Teidenryukudokairo
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JP2713569B2 (ja) * 1987-03-24 1998-02-16 キヤノン株式会社 電子放出装置
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JP2620895B2 (ja) * 1990-09-07 1997-06-18 モトローラ・インコーポレーテッド 電界放出装置を備えた電子装置
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
KR950012543A (ko) 1995-05-16
EP0651417A1 (en) 1995-05-03
JP2861755B2 (ja) 1999-02-24
DE69407927D1 (de) 1998-02-19
JPH07130281A (ja) 1995-05-19
KR0155179B1 (ko) 1998-10-15
DE69407927T2 (de) 1998-08-13
US5550435A (en) 1996-08-27

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